State schools in private hands

Nine new public schools will for the first time be built and maintained by the private sector in a $133 million deal that the teachers' union fears is a precursor to privatising public education.

A private consortium will lease, manage and provide security for the school buildings for 30 years, after which they will return to public control.

The Treasurer, Michael Egan, yesterday said the deal would deliver the schools on average two years earlier and save the taxpayer $8 million, or 4 per cent less than if the Government had built and maintained the schools itself.

When completed, the nine schools will cater for 2000 high school students, up to 3800 primary students and 85 children with specific needs.

Three of the schools - Mungerie Park, Rosebery Road and Poole Road - are in Baulkham Hills and due to be completed in 2004. Two others - Glenwood and Perfection Avenue - are in Blacktown and due to be competed the following year.");document.write("

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Primary schools at Horsley, in Wollongong, and Mataram Road, in Warnervale, on the Central Coast, are due to be delivered in 2004. The Shell Cove primary in Shellharbour and Horningsea Park secondary at Liverpool will be opened in 2005.

"This is the first time we have entered into a private sector partnership for the provision of social infrastructure," Mr Egan said.

But the president of the NSW Teachers Federation, Maree O'Halloran, accused the Government of shifting its financial accountability behind the secrecy of private contracts.

"This contract will be commercially in confidence so no one will get to see the details," she said. "We are concerned it is a foot in the door for private companies and for the full privatisation of schools."

But Mr Egan said: "These schools will be staffed in the same way as other government schools. The school principal will have complete control of the school facilities."

He announced the winning bidder as Axiom Education, a consortium of financiers, builders and maintenance companies. It includes ABN-AMRO, St Hilliers, Hansen Yuncken and SSL Facilities Management.

The concept is borrowed from the Blair Labour government in Britain, where schools, hospitals, roads and prisons have been built under the so-called Private Public Partnership model.

The Education Minister, John Watkins, said extra conditions imposed on the contract meant the schools would be staffed by state-employed teachers, as with all public schools. And it was a lease, "not to transfer ownership". After-hours use by any outside organisation would be decided by the principal.

Mr Egan said there were service guarantees built into the contract so the consortium would be penalised for not responding to maintenance problems such as repairs, emptying rubbish bins and even replenishing soap in toilets.

The Government measured the saving to the taxpayer with a "public sector comparator" developed by accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. A spokesman for Mr Egan denied there was a conflict of interest in one of PwC's clients, property developer St Hilliers, being in the winning consortium. He said the committee that evaluated the proposal was "made aware of that situation" and a probity check was conducted by Deloittes Touche Tohmatsu.